WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Coughing Baby

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Chapter 155: Nightmare 12th Floor (2)

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I realized something was wrong a beat too late.

‘What is this...?’

A strange emotion quietly began to rise within me.

Why had the Demon King's words irritated me so much just now?

Frowning, I stopped time.

Within frozen time, I calmly settled my mind.

The negative emotions still hadn't disappeared, but...

At least recognizing that something was wrong with me made things a little better.

My mind was clearly not normal right now.

The cause?

It was obvious.

It had to be the purple water I had just drunk.

‘...Pride.’

I realized which of the Seven Deadly Sins the lion symbolized.

Right. This was the emotion of pride.

It seemed I had the right answer.

I could absorb the Seven Deadly Sins by drinking the water from the basin.

But still...

Did absorbing a sin mean its emotion would affect me directly? Like this?

‘Fuck.’

The Tower was pulling some new bullshit again.

I shook off the pride that kept trying to worm its way into my thoughts.

Since stopping time didn't work, this had to be an effect acting directly on my mind.

Still, I seemed mostly sane for now.

[Pride (X)]

The problem was that I hadn't absorbed all the sins yet.

I needed to drink more. Probably a full cup.

If one sip was this bad... how strong would the effect be after drinking an entire cup?

I resumed time and took an item out of Subspace.

The Heavenly Music Box, which had the effect of calming the mind and body.

I wondered if it would help.

♪~ ♬~

After activating the music box, I picked up the cup again.

Prepared for it, I slowly drank the water.

All the while, I watched the air from the corner of my eye to see whether the X beside Pride changed.

When I had drained nearly all the water, leaving only about a mouthful...

[Pride (O)]

[Greed (X)]

[Envy (X)]

[Wrath (X)]

[Lust (X)]

[Gluttony (X)]

[Sloth (X)]

...It changed!

I immediately pulled my lips away from the cup.

[An ‘Escape Route’ has appeared somewhere in the forest.]

Another message followed.

But I had no time to worry about that.

A torrent of negative emotions crashed over my mind.

“...”

It was several times stronger than when I had taken one sip.

Only I mattered. Only my thoughts and actions were right, and everyone else felt utterly insignificant...

But wasn't that true?

Where in this world was there anyone better than me?

The other Nightmare climbers couldn't even properly clear a single floor on their own without me posting clear information.

If it hadn't been for me, Earth would have already been destroyed dozens more times.

This body was the world's one and only savior.

Other people only needed to worship me. That was the reason all those insignificant things existed.

The Demon King laughed.

- Heh heh, you've lost it, you bastard.

“What are you laughing at? You're a loser who's only staying alive because you're clinging to me.”

- ...What the hell did you just say?

No. No, that wasn't right.

I couldn't be like this. This wasn't me.

I tightly shut my eyes and took deep breaths to calm myself.

I focused on the melody of the music box.

It definitely worked.

As I listened to the melody, my mind gradually settled down. Good, I was feeling much better.

“Fuuu...”

After barely regaining a little composure, I opened my eyes again.

“...You know I didn't mean that, right, Demon King?”

The Demon King simply snorted in disbelief.

I shook my head.

Then I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.

The emotion of pride hadn't disappeared.

For now, I had only barely pushed it into a corner of my mind.

I kept the music box playing.

Maintaining my precarious mental state, I checked the message before me.

[An ‘Escape Route’ has appeared somewhere in the forest.]

As promised, an Escape Route had appeared after I absorbed one or more sins.

I used Air Step and rose into the sky.

Then I searched the forest for the Escape Route.

‘...Is that it?’

It didn't take long to spot a faint light leaking from one side of the forest.

I descended toward it.

A single door stood alone in empty space.

Light leaked through the gap in the door.

When I approached and touched it, information appeared.

[Special Item: Escape Route]

Open the door and enter to complete the clear of the 12th floor of Nightmare difficulty and move to the Reward Room.

...It really was an Escape Route.

I cracked the door open.

A portal-like space spread out within the doorframe.

Entering it would complete the 12th-floor clear...

But I didn't do so right away.

Because it felt fucking suspicious.

‘That's it?’

The mental effects of this sin were seriously awful, but the Nightmare clear ended with just this?

Finding the Escape Route hadn't even been difficult.

I looked back at the messages in the air.

[Once you absorb one or more sins, an ‘Escape Route’ will appear somewhere in the forest.]

[Once you absorb all seven sins, ‘Purifying Holy Water’ will appear somewhere in the forest.]

[You may complete the clear by using the Escape Route or drinking the Purifying Holy Water.]

I could simply complete the clear after absorbing only one sin...

Then why was absorbing all seven sins provided as another clear method?

‘Purifying Holy Water.’

I focused on those words.

Judging by the name, it seemed to be an item that purified something.

What it purified was obvious.

What else could it be other than the sins?

“...”

Let's think about this.

If the Purifying Holy Water was an item that could remove the sins I had absorbed...

Didn't that mean using the Escape Route would leave the absorbed sins behind?

Even after I cleared the floor and returned outside. Like a permanent debuff.

A chill ran down my spine.

That was the only way it made sense.

Otherwise, why would anyone stupidly absorb all seven sins?

If I absorbed only one sin and completed the clear, I'd have to carry that penalty with me.

I had currently absorbed Pride.

I was barely keeping myself calm by using the music box.

...What would happen if this state lasted forever?

Could I handle that?

Of course I could. Did I even need to ask?

There was no way I couldn't handle something this trivial... Fuck, here I went again.

I slapped myself across the face once more.

It was terrifying. This unstable mental state lasting forever?

I would no longer be myself.

I stared at the Escape Route.

‘What if I leave for now and clear it again later...?’

What about obtaining the Purifying Holy Water through a repeat clear?

But I doubted the Tower would allow that.

It might be a system where sins absorbed during another attempt couldn't be removed by the Purifying Holy Water.

...There was only one certain method.

Absorb all the remaining sins and clear the 12th floor with the Purifying Holy Water.

I returned to the fountain first.

“Fuuu...”

I pressed the buttons one at a time.

The lion was purple, the dragon was red.

The snake was green, the goat was pink, the fly was yellow, the donkey was blue, and the fox was orange.

I didn't know which sins the other six represented.

I could only guess that red might be Wrath.

And pink... that was probably Lust? Maybe the donkey was Sloth?

There wasn't much point in figuring it out.

If I was going to absorb them, I had to absorb them all anyway.

I soon made up my mind.

I was still afraid to clear the floor in this state. Afraid of what I might become.

Those dark thoughts I had earlier.

What if the prideful version of me caused great harm to the world? What if I became like the me from the 10th floor?

These emotions would also be fatal when climbing the Tower in the future.

Pride was especially dangerous during Nightmare clears, where I needed to be more careful than ever...

Look, I was already losing my mind.

If I was going to drink them, why not just drink them all? What was the problem? Couldn't I even endure something this minor? Conceit and arrogance kept rearing their heads in my mind, trying to overpower reason.

Even though I knew something was wrong with me, I was like this.

- Hey...

“Will you shut up? You're seriously distracting.”

- You little insect. I've been letting you get away with too much.

“No, sorry. What is it?”

Frowning, I listened to the Demon King.

- Hand over your body. I will absorb the remaining sins.

I considered his words for a moment before asking, “Can you endure it, Demon King?”

- Do you even need to ask?

“Don't be so confident. Are you sure you won't be affected?”

The Demon King was silent for a moment before answering.

- We'll have to see. Wouldn't I be better than you?

Of course, the Demon King was an entity in an entirely different league from me.

Still, he was just an old man whose magic was ridiculously powerful, and there wasn't anything else he could do better than me... Ah, fuck. Seriously.

I repeatedly smacked my head and continued thinking.

What if the Demon King was affected by the sins too?

No matter how incredible he was, he was still within the Tower's grasp.

Just as he couldn't destroy objects the Tower had designated indestructible, what if the Tower had made this something that absolutely affected the mind? What if that was simply how the system worked?

Then the Demon King couldn't be free of the sins' influence either.

And if the Demon King became mentally unstable and refused to hand my body back, that would be the worst possible outcome.

Besides, I didn't even know exactly how this worked.

Did each absorbed sin affect the Demon King and me separately, or did whoever controlled the body receive all the effects of the sins...?

I considered having the Demon King drink the water as a test and immediately hand my body back, but if it was the latter, the moment I handed the body over to him, he would be affected by the Pride I had absorbed.

A Demon King even more prideful than he already was?

It would be a disaster if he refused to return my body.

“...No. It's too risky for you to drink it, Demon King.”

- Can you handle it?

I glared at the basin and picked up the cup.

“I can.”

I had to drink.

There was no other choice but for me to drink it.

I'd somehow endure it.

Having made up my mind to absorb the remaining six sins as quickly as possible, I immediately filled a cup from the basin.

The fox, orange.

Without hesitation, I gulped it down.

[Greed (O)]

Greed changed to an O.

So the fox represented the sin of Greed.

That was the second sin I'd absorbed.

I was about to absorb the next sin when I froze.

...The emotions were surging up again.

Come to think of it, I had always been the one taking losses.

Why had I posted Nightmare clear information in the Communication Window without gaining anything in return?

That was my property.

It was priceless information I had obtained by risking my life and suffering through hell.

What a waste. Such a waste...!

Everything I had given to the world without receiving anything in return was such a waste!

Why had I done all that? You stupid bastard.

Being praised as a savior? Did that feed me?

The same went for training Taylor and Ye Tianwei. What did I gain by doing things for those bastards...?

“Ugh...!”

Crunch!

Clutching my head, I ended up ripping out a fistful of hair.

The melody. Focus on the music box's melody.

I did my best to ignore the stale pile of emotions invading my mind.

After calming myself for a long time, I regained my composure.

Of course, it was as fragile as thin ice that could shatter at any moment.

‘...Still, I can endure this much.’

For now.

I looked down at the fistful of hair I had just torn out.

Ah, my hair... What a waste... No, no.

I caught hold of my mind as it tried to lead me astray again.

Let's keep going like this. I just needed to hurry and absorb the remaining sins.

I pressed the dragon button without thinking.

The water in the basin turned bright red like blood.

I filled a cup and downed it in one gulp.

Then...

[Wrath (O)]

“...!”

It was like an active volcano erupting.

An irresistible, burning emotion surged up in an instant.

I staggered, clutching my forehead.

...Those vermin.

Here I was sacrificing everything for the world, while those pieces of trash could only think about their own benefit.

Even though I had begged them so much, they pulled that shit during the Joint Battle.

They were probably still giggling happily right now. The climbers had gained curse immunity in the end and gotten what they wanted.

Disgusting. Despicable.

It felt like my brain was boiling.

Why were those pests, who were of no help to the world, even alive?

Kill them.

Right. Kill them all.

Boom!

I threw the music box aside and leaped high into the sky.

Using Air Step, I flew toward the place where the Escape Route stood.

Footnotes:

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